Simba Makoni Talks Business on Zimbabwe Television

Simba Makoni earlier today being interviewed by Supa Mandiwanzira for the programme Talking Business, which will air on Zimbabwe Television next week Thursday (05 November) after 9p.m. It was a wide-ranging and engaging interview and I was impressed

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Zimbabwe has finished playing against South Africa in the COSAFA Cup at Rufaro Stadium and Zimbabwe won 3 -2. The match has just ended. Dr Makoni, his wife and Deputy Prime Minister Mutambara were also at the game.

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Now for my article on Simba Makoni.

I was at Supa Mandiwanzira's Studios at Newlands today for the recording of an in-depth interview with Simba Makoni.

The interview will be broadcast on Thursday next week on ZTV on Supa's programme, Talking Business.

It covered familiar ground: the statement issued by Makoni last week in which he lambasted Mugabe and Tsvangirai for the breakdown in government. Makoni was able to dispel various misconceptions, such as the widely circulated lie that when he and Morgan Tsvangirai went to Lusaka, Zambia to meet SADC presidents after the March presidential elections, Makoni had asked that he be appointed to lead a Transitional Authority!

Makoni hit that one out of the park, and said, yes, he was the first person to ask for a Transitional Authority and that he specifically asked that the Transitional Authority should not be led by any one of the presidential candidates, himself included, because they all had vested interests.

Instead, it was to be composed of business leaders, non-governmental organisations' leaders, academics, women's and youth representatives: in fact all stakeholder constituencies in the country. These would have been tasked with arranging for a new people-driven constitution, the constituting of an independent Electoral Commission, reform of the media.

The idea was to have stakeholders from all constituencies (that is, the people) craft the Zimbabwe that they wanted without the interference of politicians. Once they had finished this job, they would then call for an election. The electoral process would have been overseen by this All-Stakeholders body.

The end result would have been an unprecedented level playing field for all parties, Makoni's included.

Tsvangirai was angry with Makoni for suggesting that neither he, nor Mugabe nor Makoni should feature in the Transitional Authority, but you can now see, Makoni was right.

What we have now is not a Transitional government because both Mugabe and Tsvangirai have vested interests and are both trying to manipulate the reform process to give themselves an unfair advantage.

Mugabe still has all his powers and is using these to frustrate the crafting of a people's agenda.

Tsvangirai is trying to muscle in but is proving to be a minion in the game, buffeted by the gigantic waves of the Zimbabwe Security Establishment, ZANU PF vested interests and a government structure saturated to the bone with ZANU PF poison.

At the end of the Inclusive Government, nothing would have changed. Whereas if Makoni's idea had been bought, we would not have Mugabe in power today. We would a group of technocrats restructuring all wings of government, instilling a proper apolitical culture and levelling the playing field in preparation for a new election.

That new election would have been held most probably under the supervision of the United Nations or African Union because by then, Mugabe would have been out of office and would not be able to use State machinery to block the coming in of the United Nations.

Right now, no matter what happens, it will be Mugabe who decides who gets invited to observe the elections and he will not invite the United Nations. SADC and AU will only be given observer status, not a supervisory role.

Makoni also touched on the progress of his party, the failure by Mugabe and Tsvangirai to come up with any realistic and workable policies for creating jobs and growing the economy, which has led to the IMF and World Bank refusing to lend money to Zimbabwe because there is no prospect of the money being paid back.

If you are in Zimbabwe, be sure to watch the show after 9p.m.Thursday next week (November 5) on Zimbabwe Television.